Skin
by hankpym
Summary: Most of her scars were on her hands. From squeezing too tight on weapons when she was nervous, the wear between her fingers from constantly having shuriken and senbon needles there, skin on her palms that had been worn down and the new skin that grew in its place. NejiTen


My first request: complete! The prompt was Skin from Aquarius Galuxy (are you actually an Aquarius? If so, WOO HOO! TEAM AQUARIUS!) Sort of an AU- Neji never died. Takes place in the future.

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><p>Leaning back into her touch as her fingers worked through his long, silky hair, Neji Hyuuga sighed, content. His eyes were closed, his legs were crossed, and he enjoyed the shade that came from his favourite tree.<p>

Lee and Gai had long since left, leaving the two to share a moment of intimacy. In such a moment, she took the opportunity to braid his hair.

It was a pastime they both enjoyed. Tenten loved to braid his hair in different types, fishtails, french, dutch, and others he hadn't even heard of. Neji loved the way she worked through his hair, combing out any tangles and massaging his scalp. The skin on her hands were rough and worn from use, but still soft.

He would never know how much he could come to miss her. He use to never be afraid to die- but with something to live for, that all changed.

Opening his eyes, he glanced up at her. Tenten looked down at him, pausing in her task, and smiled. She leaned forward slightly and pressed a kiss to the back of his head.

"What are you thinking of?" She asked, going back to her work. In the two years since the war, his hair had grown even longer, to the point that it was barely manageable. If it wasn't for her, he would've long since cut it all off.

Shaking his head in response, he leaned back far enough to rest his head against her chest. "My best friend."

She laughed, and he watched as her lips grew into a large smile. There was a scar that started on her left cheek and went through her mouth, all the way to her chin. One of the three on her face, one of the millions on her body.

"I'm sure Lee would be happy to know you're thinking of him," she replied, grinning. The Hyuuga rolled his eyes, shaking his head at her silliness. "You have to sit up so I can finish braiding."

"Hn, later."

He took her hand in his own, massaging her palm with his thumb. He heard her chuckle, but ignored it and kept going.

Most of her scars were on her hands. From squeezing too tight on weapons when she was nervous, the wear between her fingers from constantly having shuriken and senbon needles there, skin on her palms that had been worn down and the new skin that grew in its place.

He planted a kiss in the center of her palm and sat up. He turned fully to face her. She tilted her head to the side in confusion as he reached forward and cupped her face in his hands.

"What is up with you today?" She asked as he gently pulled her towards him.

He began to plant kisses on the scar that went across her right eye- from one of her A-Rank solo missions, when the enemy shinobi nearly cut out her eye and she came home bleeding and unable to see for a week.

"Feeling appreciative," he mumbled against her skin once he was done. Her colour contrasted his quite a lot- he was practically white, with very little colour throughout, where she was tan, darker than even Naruto sometimes, with the reddest cheeks he'd ever seen. Her skin was soft to the touch, except on her hands, and shined in the sunlight when she perspired.

Finally, he got to the big scar while she still sat, looking confused. They kissed a lot and on many different body parts, and he initiated them just as much as she did, but never like this. Never so openly.

The scar that started on her cheek and went down to her chin was unforgettable. While she used to be recognised by her twin buns when they were younger, this was the new marker of Tenten. Her buns were still there and still iconic- with two braids that tied into one at the end of them*- but this scar would always be the new first thing people thought of when Tenten came to mind.

It was given to her by a rogue nin formerly from the hidden Mist, one she remembered from the war. It wasn't even her mission- it was Yamanaka Ino's first as an anbu, but the size of the team Tsunade-sama sent was miscalculated, and they needed back up. She considered Ino her closest friend, so of course, Tenten answered the call. By now, she wasn't quite legendary but her name was known as the Weapons Mistress of Konoha- she who wielded the Banana fan during the Fourth Great Ninja War.

The rogue nin refused to let her get the advantage and kept their fight close range- little did he know that Tenten was better at taijutsu than many of her peers, something she could thank Gai-sensei for. Still, the nin got a few hits in, and pulled out a dagger when Tenten was least expecting. It was more than a slash, it dug deeper than that.

According to Ino, everything else was a blur. Tenten's blood was all over the place, and it got all over the rogue nin, making it hard for him to see. Tenten had gotten out a senbon, sending it through his neck. She collapsed right after that due to blood loss. Caught up in her own fight, Ino couldn't heal her in time. She was the only medic on the team but Sasuke tried his best to stop the bleeding.

The Uchiha was the first to see Tenten's face without bandages on. Neji remembered his remark of, "If she wasn't already yours, I would make her mine." Naruto said it translated to Sasuke thinking the scar was hot- to which the blonde wholeheartedly agreed.

Tenten was not as happy about it. Gone was her childish appearance and innocent smile- replaced with something brutal. Her face was still soft and her cheeks still puffed out when she smiled, but now...now her face was tainted. She was sad about it for weeks, and nothing Neji could say or do could make her feel better. None of their other comrades had scars, she reasoned, and it made her look weak. Like a loser.

It wasn't until Hinata, who was last to hear about the scar since she and Shino were on a mission that took weeks, came back to the village. When she first saw Tenten, she blushed, and told the bun-haired kunoichi how cool she looked.

Neji smiled to himself as he recalled this. Tilting her head to the side, he planted a kiss at the scar's start, trailing kisses all the way to her lips. The scar made her upper lip permanently puff up a bit and her bottom lip had a tiny gash that would never go away.

Puffing her cheeks out, Tenten leaned forward and kissed her best friend. His lips were smooth and soft, like the rest of his skin. Unlike her, he had no unsightly scars or rough hands. His skin was like milk, his hair was like silk.

Still, she loved him and his soft, perfect skin, just as he loved her and her rough, scarred skin.

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><p>*- Have you all seen her design for 'The Last' Movie, coming out Dec 6th? She looks hot hot like a tater tot! I imagine that if Neji were in it, his hair would be so long that it would be tied into a little bun, with a really long fishtail braid that goes up to like his knee.<p>

Reviews are always a gift! Also- you could be rewarded for leaving one! While I try to get back into the gear of writing Naruto fics, I will be taking some one-shot requests! They will be AU or canon, it's the requester's choice. If you give me a prompt, there's a high chance I'll do the request (though I do have a right to turn down any, and the request may be of higher quality if it stars a character/pairing that I like, rather than something I don't enjoy). So, read this and if you like my writing, then tell me you want a request either in a review or in a PM and we can discuss it further! (If you leave your review anonymously then, just detail what prompt you want in the review)!


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